These Chinese Steamed Mushrooms are quick, simple, and packed with umami and garlic flavor. Steaming is an excellent alternative to sautéing and showcases the mushroom's texture. Ready in 20 minutes or less!

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💡 Tips for Steaming Mushrooms
- Use a variety of mushrooms: Be creative with your selection! Different mushrooms have different textures; for example, enoki mushrooms are stringy and crunchy, while button mushrooms are tender and slightly bouncy. A mix makes for a delight for the senses!
- Cut off tough stems: Some mushrooms like oysters, cremini, and shiitakes have tough, woody stems that should be cut off and discarded. For others like enoki and maitake, remove their rooty bases to let the fronds separate.
- Pack the Mushrooms Tightly in the Steaming Dish: Mushrooms will shrink a bit after cooking, so aim to fit in as many as possible.
🧂 Ingredients
- Mushrooms: A medley works best! Options include button, cremini, shiitake, portabello, oyster, king trumpet, chanterelle, pine, enoki, and maitake.
- Garlic: Freshly minced for the best flavor!
- Oil: Many of garlic's flavor compounds are fat-soluble, so we need oil to extract their full taste.
- Oyster sauce: A thick Chinese condiment with a slightly sweet, salty, and umami flavor.
- Shaoxing wine: An amber-colored, slightly salty cooking wine. It provides a sweet and complex flavor.
- Chicken Bouillon Powder: I recommend using Totole Chicken Flavor Soup Base Mix.
- Soy sauce: Enhances all the flavors.
- Sugar: A hint of sweetness to balance the salty condiments.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the juices that will come out of the mushrooms.
- Scallion: For flavor and garnishing.
🔪 Instructions
STEP 1: Slice the mushrooms in half vertically. For shiitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms, cut off and discard their tough stems. Rinse under cold running water and spin dry in a salad spinner.
STEP 2: Mix all ingredients (excluding scallion greens) in a large mixing bowl, then transfer to a deep plate or pie dish.
STEP 3: Place in a covered, preheated steamer with boiling water. Steam mushrooms on medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
STEP 4: Remove the lid, sprinkle the scallion greens on top, and serve with rice!
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Store leftover steamed mushrooms in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers by microwaving or heating in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.
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📋 Recipe
Chinese Steamed Mushrooms Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb mushrooms (any mix of button, cremini, shiitake, oyster, enoki, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 scallion (sliced, greens and whites separated)
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms in half vertically. For shiitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms, cut off and discard their tough stems. Rinse under cold running water and spin dry in a salad spinner.
- Combine all ingredients (excluding scallion greens) in a large mixing bowl and mix well, then transfer to a deep plate or pie dish.
- Place in a covered, preheated steamer with boiling water. Steam over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, sprinkle the scallion greens on top, and serve with rice!
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